INDIANAPOLIS — The 2013 NFL Draft quarterback class is ripe for someone, really anyone, to step up and take the reins as the lead prospect.

One of the players in the mix to potentially do that, Matt Barkley, was one of three quarterbacks invited to the scouting combine that did not participate in drills because of an injury (Zac Dysert and Sean Renfree being the others). Barkley’s absence left a host of other contenders hoping to close the gap on West Virginia’s Geno Smith, currently a general-consensus pick as the No. 1 QB available.

The QB group worked through its on-field drills on Sunday, two days after meeting with the media. A quick look at how some of the top participating quarterbacks fared this weekend, and what it might mean going forward:

If you needed any further proof that there is no RGIII in this year’s QB class, Smith running the best 40-yard-dash at this position should do it. But for Smith, his 4.59 40 should help convince teams that he can get out of the pocket and make plays, even if he’s not an option-offense prospect.

On the flip, however, Day 4 of the combine wrapped without any real sense that any QB had separated himself from the rest. All the throws were there for the West Virginia product, but his inability to really run away and hide from the rest of the class certainly will not help his case for the No. 1 overall selection.

Nassib’s low-end 40 time (unofficially 5.06, better than only Landry Jones at quarterback) proofed what his college tape showed and what he told the media here Friday: He’s not a speed QB.

“I’m not much of a runner by trade like some other guys,” Nassib said, when asked if he could run the zone-read.

As a pocket passer, though, Nassib did nothing to hurt his stock during Sunday’s workout. The knocks on Nassib include that he lets his mechanics slip and occasionally floats passes downfield. But in the controlled combine environment, he was able to flash a strong, accurate arm. Nassib is a more athletic QB than he showed in the 40, too, so don’t expect his 5.06 to hurt him too much.

Right now, Glennon is a sort of take-what-you-get prospect for NFL teams. He did manage to come in under 5.0 seconds unofficially in the 40, topping Nassib, Tyler Bray and Jones, but he’s simply a tall, gangly QB with room to grow both physically and as a passer.

There’s no denying that he has a strong arm — one of the strongest in the draft. Is that enough to convince NFL teams to overlook his downsides? Maybe, but Sunday likely will not go down as his distinguishing moment.

Say hello to your high-riser at the QB position out of the combine. Bray weighed in at 232, up a whopping 24 pounds from his final game at Tennessee. Like Glennon and Nassib, he’s far from a burner or an option guy, so his high 40 time shouldn’t hinder him too much.

And that’s especially true because Bray zinged the ball (and did so accurately) during drills. There’s definitely room for quarterbacks to rise and fall between now and the draft, and Bray’s weekend work has him trending in the right direction.

Wilson was middle of the road in most of Sunday’s drills. That’s an improvement from a couple days ago, when Wilson measured in alongside Colby Cameron and Matt Scott as the smallest QB prospects here (6-2) and stood alone with the smallest hands (8 3/4). The latter could be an issue for a lot of teams — small hands are believed to translate to a weak grip on the football and, thus, fumbles and/or passes that tend to wobble.

Wilson still has work to do as a passer, where his footwork tends to desert him. He did not make any glaring mistakes Sunday.

Manuel said Friday, “I definitely feel I’m the best quarterback in this class.” Even though that may not wind up being true, Manuel continues to look more and more like a definite Day 2 option for teams hoping to develop a quarterback. Manuel finished second to Smith in the 40, but he measured in with the biggest hands of any QB (10 3/8 inches), put up the top vertical jump and posted the second-best broad jump (9 feet, 10 inches).

He’s an athlete with a nice arm, plus might be capable of running at least a little read-option. All of that could combine to drive Manuel up the draft board.

Jones timed in as the slowest of the quarterbacks who participated Sunday, with a 5.11. That’s only so important for a pocket guy like Jones, but it does further the perception that Jones’ all-around game is tolerable yet underwhelming. Jones appeared to have a fine day throwing the football — hitting his spots when able to set and fire has never been his bugaboo, though.

__________________My name is Clay. I am a clueless moron when it comes to evaluating football talent. I thought that Pat Mahomes was unworthy of being drafted in the first round, also, I wanted Geno Smith first overall. I also claimed that tyreek hill was undeserving of even being in the CFL. I am wrong 20x more than I'm right and I will troll this site with my uneducated football takes.

I would have liked to have known what Geno's time was in the 3 cone and 20-yard shuttle.

But his broad jump and vertical jump were only 2 inches shorter than Cam Newton's.

__________________My name is Clay. I am a clueless moron when it comes to evaluating football talent. I thought that Pat Mahomes was unworthy of being drafted in the first round, also, I wanted Geno Smith first overall. I also claimed that tyreek hill was undeserving of even being in the CFL. I am wrong 20x more than I'm right and I will troll this site with my uneducated football takes.

This is in direct contradiction to what I saw yesterday regarding Wilson. He was crap. Complete and utter crap. I don't know if they didn't show us everything but from what I saw, I wouldn't draft him any higher than 4th.

Bray was impressive and I wouldn't be surprised to see him rise into the second round. Nassib was unimpressive and I don't even think they showed Scott in throwing drills.

That article may as well written its conclusions before the combine.

"Geno Smith proved to be faster than everyone else and made all the throws....but did nothing to separate himself". Just exactly WTF else did you want him to do?

And any combine article that says that Tyler Wilson was anything other than complete crap isn't worth the bandwidth it took to post it. That's a litmus test takeaway from all of yesterday's reports: Did this person know enough about what he was watching to realize that Tyler Wilson looked like dogshit?

If not, then stop reading.

Though I agree that Bray looked decent, it's hard to say how good he looked because the group he was in was just absolute trash. He clearly stood out from the Colin Klein's of the field, but that wasn't saying much.

I wish he was in group 5 with Geno, Manuel, Scott and Wilson so we could've seen where he slotted in with those guys.

"Geno Smith proved to be faster than everyone else and made all the throws....but did nothing to separate himself". Just exactly WTF else did you want him to do?

And any combine article that says that Tyler Wilson was anything other than complete crap isn't worth the bandwidth it took to post it. That's a litmus test takeaway from all of yesterday's reports: Did this person know enough about what he was watching to realize that Tyler Wilson looked like dogshit?

If not, then stop reading.

Though I agree that Bray looked decent, it's hard to say how good he looked because the group he was in was just absolute trash. He clearly stood out from the Colin Klein's of the field, but that wasn't saying much.

I wish he was in group 5 with Geno, Manuel, Scott and Wilson so we could've seen where he slotted in with those guys.

"Geno Smith proved to be faster than everyone else and made all the throws....but did nothing to separate himself". Just exactly WTF else did you want him to do?

Exactly. Mayock made similar statements yesterday. Yes, I saw the film that Mayock demonstrated as poor decisions. But with nearly 70% completion rate, isn't Smith allowed to make a few mistakes?

His comments were absurd. Either there's some kind of hidden secret about Geno Smith that no one in the media is sharing or they just can't seem to wrap their heads around the simple truth that Andrew Luck and RGIII are unique.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I wish he was in group 5 with Geno, Manuel, Scott and Wilson so we could've seen where he slotted in with those guys.

You're right: I'd only seen Bray one time on CBS in the past two years but I'd read plenty of reports about him and the player I saw didn't fit those descriptions or the single game that I saw. So, maybe I'm jumping to conclusions because I saw a strong-armed, confident, big QB and not a whiny, scrawny little bitch.

As for the risers, E.J. Manuel clearly stood out. I had mentioned sometime in October or so that I felt he was a 4th rounder with potential but he's getting better with each passing week and clearly helped himself the most with his Combine numbers and Senior Bowl play.

I think he's moved into the second round. While I think I prefer Smith and Barkley, I wouldn't be upset if the Chiefs selected Manuel because I believe that he has a very high ceiling.

Exactly. Mayock made similar statements yesterday. Yes, I saw the film that Mayock demonstrated as poor decisions. But with nearly 70% completion rate, isn't Smith allowed to make a few mistakes?

His comments were absurd. Either there's some kind of hidden secret about Geno Smith that no one in the media is sharing or they just can't seem to wrap their heads around the simple truth that Andrew Luck and RGIII are unique.